Name: Darreus Rogers
School: USC
Position fit: “X” receiver
Stats to know: Rogers caught 42.9 percent of the deep passes thrown his way, the ninth-best mark in the Pac-12.
What he does best:
- Strong hands catcher, has long arms and extends to make catches so big catch radius. Dropped just two passes last season (on 58 catchable targets).
- Excellent ball skills, knows how to both track the ball over his shoulder and adjust his route as well as stop and high point it when it’s too far underthrown.
- Really good body control, knows exactly when to jump and twist his body in the air to make the tough catch. Will usually land on his feet too.
- Uses his size well to keep defenders off of him at the catch point. Very good in contested catch situations and will hold onto the ball through contact.
- Solid footwork, hands work and strength to fight off press coverage.
- Decent after-the-catch runner, very strong and hard to bring down.
- Dropped only eight of 113 catchable passes over last three years.
Biggest concern:
- Can’t separate. Ran a 4.82 40-yard dash at his Pro Day and that speed translates to his tape.
- Ran very few routes in college and wasn’t particularly good at them. Lacks quickness in his stops and breaks so won’t gain separation through route running.
- Athleticism questions. Had the lowest vertical jump (26.5 inches), bench press (8 reps) and broad jump (112”) at the combine, and his 3-cone (7.22 seconds) and 20-yard shuttle (4.54) were bottom-five times among receivers. This translates to his tape as well.
- Had trouble holding onto the football if he went to the ground with it.
- Doesn’t really show any kind of subtle moves to get open that other receivers who struggle with speed often possess.
Player comparison: Laquon Treadwell, Minnesota Vikings
Treadwell is an all-around better athlete than Rogers, but has a similar issue of having strong hands and great body control but inability to separate consistently. He can catch in traffic and is strong with the ball in his hands. Treadwell is more polished and a better receiver overall than Rogers is, and even he struggled to find the field last season because of his inability to separate.
Bottom line: Rogers has the size and length that NFL teams want in a receiver, coupled with his impressive work in contested catch situations and 50/50 jump balls. But after Treadwell was picked in the first round of last year’s draft and played just 79 snaps in his rookie season, NFL teams will likely be hesitant to draft a player that has trouble separating. Rogers lacks the athleticism necessary for the NFL and struggles to make up for it elsewhere. His contested catch ability is promising, but against better, stronger and faster NFL corners he won’t be nearly as good. Rogers would be good as a late-round pick for camp competition and perhaps a practice squad candidate, but it would be a surprise to see him on a roster next season with the issues he has.
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